Stress Management Midterm

Describe Borysenko's (immune system) stress and disease model.

"Borysenko's model outlines both dichotomy of autonomic dysregulation and immune system dysregulation, and an immune activity matrix, which classifies diseases in one of four categories: (1) exogenous over reaction, (2) endogenous over reaction, (3) exogenous under reaction, and (4) endogenous under reaction." "Based on Borysenko's model, stress-related diseases were placed into one of two categories: those related to an over responsive autonomic nervous system (migraines, ulcers, and coronary heart disease) and those associated with a dysfunctional immune system (colds and cancer).

Describe Gerber's (energy system) stress and disease model.

"Gerber's model states that the mind consists of energy (bio plasma) surrounding and permeating the body. Disease, then, is disturbance in the human energy field, which cascades through the levels of the subtle energy to the body via chakras and meridians."

Describe Lipton's (epigenetics) stress and disease model.

"Lipton suggests that it is the cell membrane that is the brain of each cell. As the gatekeeper, it not only guards what goes in and out but does so by environmental programming, including the programming from our subconscious mind."

Describe Pelletier's stress and disease premodel.

"Pelletier's premodel States that a number of issues must be addressed and understood before a stress disease model can be developed. These issues include disease states in people with multiple personality disorder's, spontaneous remissions, hypnosis, placebos, subtle energy, and immunoenhancement."

Describe Pert's (brain neurophysiology) stress and disease model.

"Pert's model cites research findings linking the nervous system with the immune system. Various cell tissues in the immune system can synthesize neuropeptides just as the brain can. Pert believes that all neuropeptides are really one molecule that undergoes a change at the atomic level brought about by various emotional states or energy thought forms.

How could you best define stress?

"Stress is the experience of a perceived threat (real or imagined) to ones mental, physical, or spiritual well-being, resulting from a series of physiological responses and adaptations." "...meaning physical force or tension placed on an object...physical tension."

Name and explain the three pathways (axes) of stress physiology?

"The nervous system and the endocrine system join together to form metabolic pathways or axes. There are three pathways: the ACTH axis, the vasopressin axis, and the thyroxine axis."

How does acute stress differ from chronic stress?

Acute stress is short-term and chronic stress is long term. Acute stress is "stress that is intense in nature, but short in duration." Chronic stress is "stress that is not as intense as acute stress, but that lingers for a prolonged period of time (financial problems."

Social readjustment rating scale

An inventory of life events that may be perceived to be stressful, used to determine one's level of stress.

List five diseases that occur when the immune system is affected by stress.

Colds, cancer, allergies, ulcers and colitis, and lupus.

How does stress affect sleep?

Emotional stress (daily stressors) is the primary cause of insomnia because am anxious state of mind doesn't allow for sleep.

Explain eustress as a means to achieve emotional balance.

Eustress is associated with joy and happiness. Positive psychology. Happiness brings a sense of emotional balance to our lives. Happiness is a perception.

Describe the emotion of fear (the flight response).

Fears are not instinctual rather they are a learned response from one or more exposures to an event. Fear can be manufactured and replicated by the imagination and it can seem Israel has any face-to-face confrontation. For this reason anxiety is categorized as either a rational or irrational. Useful fears are stimulated by real events that are life-threatening and require a response to survive or avoid the threat. Conversely irrational or useless fears are Emagine, exaggerated, or distorted to stress that override cognitive processes in the higher brain centers.

List several ways to help promote self-esteem.

Focus on action and reaching our full potential, practice living consciously and mindfully, practice self-acceptance, practice self-responsibility, practice self- assertiveness, practice living purposefully, and practice personal integrity.

What is the general adaption syndrome? List the stages.

General adaption syndrome is "a term coined by Hans Selye; the three distinct physiological phases in reaction to chronic stress: the alarm phase, the resistance phase, and the exhaustion phase." The general adaption syndrome is "a process in which the body tries to accommodate stress by adapting to it." STAGE ONE: Alarm reaction. A threat is perceived and the nervous system is triggered for survival. This stage describes the fight-or-fight response. Several body systems are activated: the nervous system, the endocrine system, the cardiovascular system, the pulmonary system, and the musculoskeletal system. "Like a smoke detector alarm buzzing late at night, all senses are put on alert until danger is over. STAGE TWO: Stage of resistance. The body tries to recover. The body tries to revert to a state of physiological calmness by resisting alarm. The perception of a threat still exists so complete homeostasis is never reached; the body stays activated and aroused, but at a lesser intensity than during the alarm stage. One or more organs may be working overtime. STAGE THREE: Stage of exhaustion. One or more target organs show signs of dysfunction. "Exhaustion occurs when one (or more) of the organs targeted by specific metabolic processes can no longer meet the demands placed upon it and fails to function properly. This can result in death to the organ...possibly death of the organism as a whole."

List the stress-resistant personalities and give an example of each.

Hardy personality are people who show a strong sense of commitment, control, and challenge under stress. Survivor personality is someone who uses both the left and right side of their brain to successfully deal with stressors. Sensation seekers are type R personality types who confront stress by calculating their risks in extreme situations and then proceeding with gusto.

Describe the emotion of anger (the fight response).

In its most basic form, anger is a survival emotion common to all animals. Humans are the only animals that can process anger into delayed revenge and behave aggressively for no reason. Anger is a form of communication. Like other species of animals, humans communicate territorial boundaries through the expression of anger. But with humans, these territorial boundaries represent the ownership of the ideas, perceptions, values, and believes that constitute one's identity or ego, as well as the ownership of material possessions. The expression of anger is used to assert Doherty as well as to strengthen or terminate relationships.

In what ways does fear become manifested as stress?

Irrational fears can produce a dangerous habit of negative self talk that feeds upon itself, creating a whirlpool of negativity that is hard to escape from.

What role does the amygdala play in the stress response?

It is associated with aggressive behavior as well as feelings and behavior associated with fear and anxiety. It is responsible for the formation and consolidation of memories associate with events that provoke a strong emotional response (fear anger). Through the hippocampus and the amygdala memories of past events can reprise the fight-or-flight reaction just by thinking about them. It is also linked to binge drinking because of stress. It is responsible for the emotional content of a memory.

What are ways to help cope with, manage, and resolve anger feelings?

Know your anger style; learn to monitor your anger; learn to deescalate your anger; learn to think out your anger; get comfortable with your feelings, and learned to express them constructively; plan ahead; develop a support system; develop realistic expectations of yourself and others; learn problem-solving techniques; stay in shape; turn complaints into requests; Forgiveness.

Do men and women respond to stress in the same way? If not, how do their responses differ?

Men are more prone to act more hostile while women tend to be more nurturing. Tend and befriend: Women who experience stress dont run from it or fight it, but rather turn to friends to cope with unpleasant events and circumstances. Men tend to think their way through problems by looking for solutions. Women talk about their problems. Co-rumination: stress based conversations between women as means of coping by finding support among friends.

List five diseases that occur when the nervous system is affected by stress.

Migraines, tension headaches, coronary heart disease, bronchial asthma, and irritable bowl syndrome.

College stress

Roommate dynamics, professional pursuits, academic deadlines, financial aid and school loans, budgeting your money, lifestyle behaviors, peer groups and peer pressure, exploring sexuality, friendships, intimate relationships, starting a professional career path.

In what ways is anger mismanaged?

SOMATIZERS present a passive behavior style that takes it's toll on the body. They are individuals who choose not to express their feelings of anger over, but rather suppress them for fear of rejection or loss of approval by those who caused a grievance. Suppressed anger. SELF PUNISHERS those channel other anger. This people often get with them so for getting angry at others. They punish themselves with control measures that lower self-esteem. EXPLODERS uncontrolled aggression. These people express their anger in a hostile manner, either verbally or physically, and like a volcano they erupt. UNDERHANDERS exhibits an active style of mismanaged anger that inflicts mild of use on individuals in his or her proximity. They usually target their aggression toward the cause of the threat but indirectly through passive aggressive behavior.

Describe self-esteem and explain what role it plays in promoting and resolving stress.

Self-esteem is the sense of underpinning self-values, self-acceptance, and self-love; thought to be a powerful buffer against perceived threats. When we place little or no value on our self, we become vulnerable to the perceptions of stress. With highs self-esteem, problems and worries tend to roll of ones back and might even go unnoticed.

What is holistic stress management?

Stress is a multifaceted (holistic) phenomenon involving mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual components of well-being. Looking at stress from all of these different perspectives helps to explain its complexity. "Effective holistic stress management includes the following: 1. Sound knowledge of the body's reaction to perceived stress. 2. Sound knowledge of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual factors associated with stress. 3. Utilization of several effective coping techniques to work toward a resolution of the causes of stress. 4. Regular practice of relaxation techniques to maintain a homeostasis balance of the body. 5. Periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of coping skills and relaxation techniques.

Sympathetic and parasympathetic

Sympathetic: the branch of the central nervous system that triggers the fight-or-fight response when some element of threat is present. Parasympathetic: the branch of the central nervous system that specifically calms the body through the parasympathetic response.

Explain the concept of neuroplasticity?

The brain is far more plastic than we ever thought. The brain can generate new connections to various cells, recruit various brain tissue for a host of functions, and generate new cell growth (previously thought to be impossible).

What does the new brain imaging tell us about stress physiology?

The brain is indeed wired for stress or allostatic load. Allostatic load is "a term coined by stress researcher Bruce McEwen to replace the expression 'stressed out;' the damage to the body when the allostatic (stress) response functions improperly or for prolonged states, causing physical damage to the body."

Describe one or more ways to cope with, manage, and resolve fear or anxiety?

The fear must be confronted at some level. Behavioral therapy (therapy in which coping and relaxation techniques are used to desensitize oneself to stress) is used. Systematic desensitization: a process of learning to distress from something in small, manageable stages. Exposure desensitization: a process of learning to distress from something by brief, yet safe, encounters with the stressor.

What role does the endocrine system play in the stress response?

The major stress gland is the adrenal gland. The outside secretes cortisol and aldosterone and the inside secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine.

What role does the nervous system play in the stress response?

The nervous system comprises two parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Within the central nervous system is the limbic system. The limbic system houses the hypothalamus with controls many functions including appetite and emotions. Within the central nervous system is the neocortical level which processes and decodes all stimuli. "The most important part of the peripheral nervous system regarding the stress response is the autonomic nervous system, which activates sympathetic and parasympathetic neural drives." Sympathetic drives cause physical arousal and parasympathetic drive maintains homeostasis by releasing hormones.

Define resiliency.

The power or ability to return to the original form or position after being compressed or bent out of shape. The ability to recover readily from illness, depression, or adversity.

Describe which part of the brain is associated with multitasking.

The prefrontal cortex. It is one of the last regions of the brain to mature and the first to decline because of aging. When the brain is constantly stimulated neurological impulses retire the brain for perpetual stress.

Yerkes-Dodson principle

The theory that some stress (eustress) is necessary for health and performance but that beyond an optimal amount both will deteriorate as stress increases.

List the stress-prone personalities and give an example of each.

Type A, codependency, and helpless-hopeless are 3 personalities associated with acute and chronic stress. Type A is associated with unresolved anger issues. Desire for higher social status. Codependency is based on the need to make others dependent to receive self-validation.first observed in the spouses and children of alcoholics. Helpless-hopeless is a person who has given up on life as a result of repeated failure.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and what is secondary post-traumatic stress disorder?

When soldiers do not have the coping skills to deal with the hellacious memories of war that haunt them. It's an emotional disorder. PTSD is characterized by chronic anxiety, nightmares, memory loss, emotional detachment, clinical depression, helplessness, restlessness, and suicidal tendencies. Secondary PTSD is a term given to family members, friends, and colleagues who are negatively affected by the "ripples of strife from loved ones" who were exposed to severe trauma.

Tend and befriend

Women who experience stress dont run from it or fight it, but rather turn to friends to cope with unpleasant events and circumstances.